Kimberlin
Feminine
There are two Kimberleys on opposite sides of the world and both are named after the same man. A British colonial secretary gave his title to a diamond town in South Africa and to a vast region of north-western Australia, and he never went to either of them.
How old is the name Kimberlin?
Kimberlin first appears in US birth records in 1957 — 68 years ago. The typical Kimberlin alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 1,100 people named Kimberlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kimberlin most popular?
Kimberlin peaked in 1993, reaching #2045 nationally. See the whole 1993 chart.
Where it comes from
From Kimberley to Kimberlin
The story of Kimberlin
Naming things after the minister in London was the standard practice of nineteenth-century colonial administration, and it produced a map covered in the names of men who had never seen the places. The Australian region is bigger than Germany. The South African town was where the diamond rush happened, and the company that came out of it controlled the world's supply for a century. Both are still called that, and the woman's name that came from them entered English use in the nineteen-forties and was one of the largest names in America within twenty years, carried by hundreds of thousands of people who had no idea it was a place, let alone two.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The chain runs from an English village to an earl's title to two colonial place names to a woman's given name, and no link in it describes a person. The village name itself joins a personal name to a word for a clearing or a wood, and the personal name is a woman's, which is unusual. The ending on this spelling is an American addition.
How the name formed
- Kimberley
- Kimberly
- Kimberlin
Pronouncing Kimberlin
KIM-bur-lin
Three syllables with the stress at the front. The ending is reduced to almost nothing, which is why it can be written -ly, -lee, -lin or -leigh with no audible difference at all.
Nicknames for Kimberlin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1957
- Most girls named
- 199367 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2045reached in 1993
- Change vs 2023
- −16.7%10 in 2024, from 12
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kimberlin in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Kimberlins among us
people named Kimberlin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kimberlin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Kim is a complete, established name sitting in the front.
- The ending is unusual enough to distinguish the name without making it hard to say.
- Every sound in it is ordinary English.
- Kimberly is enormously commoner and will be written by anyone taking dictation.
- The ending makes the name look like a surname, which some people will assume it is.
- There is no meaning to give a child, only two colonies and an earl.
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Kimberlin
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kimberlins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Kimberlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kimberlin in 2025?
- Kimberlin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kimberlin with classmates?
- Kimberlin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kimberlin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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